


The First Rule

by theinfamouswordsmith



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: (no really jasper swears like a sailor), Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Graduate School, Alternate Universe - Human, Amputee Peridot, F/F, Implied Pearlmethyst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peridot and Jasper are half-siblings, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-28 21:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5105942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinfamouswordsmith/pseuds/theinfamouswordsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.<br/>Because no one in that field is hiring.</p><p>Beleaguered Master's candidate Peridot Diamant spends all her time considering how little she's paid at her tech support job when a mysterious new adjunct wanders in with a broken graphics card.</p><p>Who is she?  Why does Peridot feel afraid whenever she walks in? Why does she make Peridot feel like glowing? And why can't anyone pronounce her name right?</p><p>--</p><p>Lapidot Grad School AU, featuring lots of moral ambiguity.  CURRENTLY ON HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

                “If you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

                Because no one in that field is hiring.”

                Admittedly, Péridot thought that graduating with the highest GPA in the Computer Science department would have landed her a better job than “technician for ElectroPlace’s IT Squad.”  Nights melded into weekends of wearing that goddamn polo and helping eighty-year-old women figure out how to open multiple tabs in (*shudder*) Internet Explorer.  Or, better yet, having unshaven gamers come in with viruses they got from clearly unsavory browsing activity and hit on her while she worked. 

                _There should be some kind of law,_ Péridot thought.  _No hitting on people while they’re working_.  She wished there were an “EP appropriate” way to say “if you don’t stop talking to me, I will literally punch you in the face, even if it means I dislocate all of my fingers.”  

                Tonight had been slow.  Péridot had spent most of it organizing the ridiculous mess of boxes whatever technician that had been there before her left behind for her to deal with and staring at the ceiling, lamenting the amount of work she had left to do on her thesis before her next meeting with her advisor.  She'd had exactly one customer, who ended up just wanting to know how to find Candy Crush on her iPad. 

                The clock ticked on.  Graduate school was slowly eating away at both her wallet and her resolve to continue life in this mortal coil.  Forty minutes left until Péridot could stop wearing these nonsense khakis and promise herself she’d do work later while she binge-watched something on Netflix.

$ _40k in student loans for me to earn slightly more than minimum wage telling middle-aged moms how to find the App Store._  

                Péridot had just resumed flattening and stacking the empty boxes when she heard someone clear their throat behind her.  She said nothing, only pointed to the whiteboard behind the desk.  The permanent text read, in flowery letters, “Your IT Squad technician for today is:” followed by blocky lettering reading “Péridot Diamant.”  The least somebody could do was address her by her name.

                She heard a sigh, followed by a clear voice.  “Peridot?”

                Péridot raised her head, about to correct another cloddy mispronunciation of her name, when she was caught by surprise by what she was sure were the bluest eyes nature had ever created.

                _Note: re-evaluate your list of the prettiest girls you’ve ever seen._  

                The stranger looked at Péridot from under the wide, floppy brim of a felt hat, smiling softly.  She was carrying a Macbook, clutched close to her chest.  “It’s Peridot, right?  That’s what the board says.”

                Péridot did her best not to stare as she somehow managed to say “The t is silent.”

                The stranger laughed, equal parts beautiful and strange, highlighting the blue streaks in her bangs.  “That’s a shame.  Dot would make such an adorable nickname.”

                Péridot snarled a little – hadn’t she just been thinking about how annoying it was when people hit on her while she was working?

                Wait.

                The most beautiful girl Péridot had ever seen was hitting on her.

                Péridot gulped down whatever strange feeling _that_ was and took a deep breath.  “Well, do you need your computer fixed or not?”

                _Crap.  That came out way worse than I wanted it to._

The stranger’s smile fell, and Péridot thought she saw a glimpse of icy anger flit across her eyes. “My screen’s broken.”

                Wordlessly, Péridot reached out and the stranger handed her the laptop.  She opened it up and powered it on – sure enough, the power button lit up and the screen stayed dark.

                “When did this start?”

                “It’s Lapis, by the way,” came the answer.

                Péridot looked at her again.  The stranger – Lapis? – had her arms crossed, showing off the plaid of cape she was wearing.  “My name is Lapis Lazurite.”

                “O…kay?”  Péridot answered. “… does that have to do with when your screen stopped working?”

                Lapis rolled her eyes.  “It stopped working yesterday.  And you should know my name, just in case you have to fill out a repairs ticket, right?”

                “Most people give me that information when I need it, not voluntarily.”  _Me and my constantly-running mouth._   “So, did you drop it, or what?”

                Lapis looked offended. “No! It just… stopped working.  I’d been painting in Photoshop for about four hours when bam, the screen goes dead.”

                Péridot picked up the laptop, examining the case and screen for any scratches or cracks.  The model was certainly older – at least two years old, judging by the beveling on the bottom edges and the texture of the lid.  It was in pretty good shape for its age.  She lifted it to her ear, listening for the tell-tale hum of the fans.  “Yeah, I think you overheated it.  The graphics card is probably blown.  It’s ancient anyway – you should be working with a newer model, especially if you’re doing high-memory work like digital painting.  You could use the better resolution card anyway – the cards you can get for this model are nothing compared to the top stuff on the market today.”

                Péridot looked up and immediately blushed when she saw the wide-eyed stare Lapis was giving her.  “I mean… it’s… your screen is fine.”

                “Uh, thanks,” Lapis said, “but I don’t know where you think I’m going to get the money to work on my doctorate _and_ buy a new Macbook.  Plus, I need that one.  All my files are on there!”

                “What, you don’t back them up to an external drive? What are you, an idiot? Your files are huge, for sure, if you’re saving them in the right format, and if any of them are animated, I bet you’ve barely got any hard disk memory left on that old thing.  What if it broke? What if you spilled coffee on it? Damn, who let you graduate without telling you to get an external hard drive? Please tell you at least have your files backed up to the cloud.”

                “If I wanted a lecture, I would have called my mother, _Peridot_.”  Lapis had a hard glare in her eyes. “Where do you even get off treating me like that, anyway? I’m a customer, you’re supposed to be helping me.”

                Péridot set the computer down and buried her face in her hands for a few seconds, feeling the cool metal of her finger splints against her face.  _Great, you’ve officially ruined your chances with the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen because you can’t shut your mouth._   She took another deep breath, trying to look Lapis in the eye.  “Look.  Trust me, I know grad school is expensive.  That’s why I’m in this godforsaken hell-hole that is ‘customer service’ in the first place. But I’m telling you, if you’re an artist, you really should take this opportunity to invest in a newer model.  I could probably recover your files for you using an outside monitor and an HDMI cable, but I’d really need an external drive. Plus, if you need money, the school I go to is looking for an art adjunct.  Alexandria University, just up the road.”

                Lapis’ face softened into a wry smile.  “I know.  Well, I mean, they aren’t hiring anymore.  I heard they found somebody.”  She leaned over, grabbing her laptop, exposing a precious few inches of perfect, dark skin from outside her wrap.  “Heard she’s beautiful, and totally fed up with big-box tech-support goons ranting at her about her hard drives; which, by the way, she uses all the time.”

                Péridot’s eyes widened.  “You’re the new art adjunct at AU?”

                Lapis pretended as if she hadn’t heard. “Well, thanks for all your help.  I’ll be back soon with my hard drive.  Are you working tomorrow?”

                “Well, I mean, I shouldn’t tell you this, but you could always just go to the IT help desk at school.  It’d cost a lot less, and they could probably hook you up with a better deal on a new laptop anyway.”

                Lapis just smiled at her and left, leaving Péridot with the strange feeling that she’d given something away.

 

* * *

 

                “Yo! Earth to Peridork!”

                Péridot looked up, startled.  A round face framed by platinum-blonde hair stared back.  “Are you coming or what, nerd?”

                Péridot groaned.  “Amethyst, I’m busy.”

                “Really? ‘Cause your shift ended four minutes ago.”

                Péridot snapped her head back to look at the clock.  “Shit, you’re right. I have to clock out.”

                “You gotta hurry.  Jasp said that if we’re not out in five she’s leaving us here.”

                Péridot rolled her eyes, grabbing her jacket and typing a few codes into the computer at the till.  “Like she has anyplace to be.”

                “Eh, she’s always in a rush.  I think one of her shows starts in a half hour.” 

                “It only takes ten minutes to get home.”  Péridot hip-checked the door to the crew room open, grabbing her shoulder bag. “She’s been putting up with me being late since I was born.  She can wait a few minutes.”

                Amethyst grinned. “Feel the sisterly love.  C’mon, Peri, let’s blow this popsicle joint.”

                “Right there with you.”

                “So, what had you so dazed, anyway? You’re usually out of here like a shot when the clock chimes twelve.” 

                Péridot sighed.  “You have no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whOOPS, forgot to add these last night.
> 
> Hi howdy it's the wordsmith! Sorry this chapter is so short -- for housekeeping's sake I had to move some stuff from the end of this chap to the beginning of the next. Chapters should average around 2-5k words.
> 
> The work should update regularly, at least once a week, but for right now there will be four or five rapid updates over the next week to get the story rolling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peri can't get that girl off her mind.

“Quick question,” Jasper said as Péridot clambered into the passenger seat.  “Why are you always late for everything?”

                “Oh, I’m sorry,” Péridot replied. “How about I cut off _your_ leg and make _you_ tote around a useless hunk of metal in its place, and then we’ll see who’s slow?”

                “It would still be you.  I’ll always be stronger and faster than you, no matter how many legs I have. And you love your prosthetics, stop acting like you’re so put-upon by  me asking you to be on time when I come pick you up from work.”  Jasper sped out of the ElectroPlace parking lot.  “You know I hate waiting.”

                “I don’t love my prosthetics as much as I’d love two legs, you massive lump of granite,” Péridot snarled. “Stop speeding, you’re going to get us all killed.”

                “I’m not speeding, I’m being reasonable.  It’s not my fault that the government comes up with ridiculously narrow ideas of how fast a car should be allowed to go.  I’m just trying to get us home at a reasonable time after you decided that whatever you were doing at the nerd bar was more important than whatever I had to do.”

                “I wasn’t even five minutes late off my shift! What do you have to do anyway, watch reruns of old cartoons while you do bicep curls? At least nobody replaced my brain with another hunk of muscle.”

                “Okay, first, I already did bicep curls today, so I’d do shoulder presses, and second, just because I’m the stronger, faster, taller, and better-looking one doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

                “You are not better looking.  You look like you swallowed a bunch of balloons filled with river rocks.  I look refined and intelligent.”

                “You look like a dweeb who can’t get out of work on time, that’s what you look like.  You have huge nerd glasses, and you wear all your hair on top of your head instead of pulling it back like a reasonable person.”

                “Just because _you_ decided to grow your hair down to your ass doesn’t mean _I_ have to make the same stupid decision, you cl-“

                Péridot was cut short by an exasperated sigh from the backseat.  “Girls, you’re both pretty. Now shut up and stop arguing. Péridot has a story for us.”

                Jasper turned her head to face Péridot.  “Really? What, did you finally manage to tell one of those Dew-guzzling idiots to go fuck himself with a –“

                “No, because I don’t want to lose my _job_.”  Péridot glared at Jasper.  “Not everyone was so lucky as to find a job in their field right after undergrad.”  She cleared her throat.  “What Amethyst wanted me to tell you was that the reason I was late was that I was distracted by one of my customers.”

                “Who wasn’t in the store when we got there, by the way,” Amethyst added.  “Peri has a crush.”

                “I do not!” Péridot turned bright red, like she always did whenever someone suggested romance anywhere near her. “I just…” she took a deep breath. “I met the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life, okay?”

                Jasper rolled her eyes.  “Oh my god, you’re so gay.”

                “Shut up! You’ve had at least three times as many girlfriends as I have.”

                “Three times zero is still zero, genius girl.”

                “Whatever! She was just really pretty, okay? And confusing. And I can’t get her out of my head.”

                “So, what’d she look like,” Amethyst prompted.

                “I don’t know.  Shorter than Jasper, taller than me.  Huge blue eyes.  She had this big, floppy hat on. Her graphics card was broken.  I couldn’t tell if she was mad at me or hitting on me.”

                “Probably mad,” Jasper said. “Mad like I am over the fact that your feet are on my dashboard.”

                “I don’t have feet, dick,” Péridot said. “I have foot. And thanks for that vote of encouragement to your baby sister who has done nothing but be kind and look up to you since the day she was born.”

                “If I had a sister like that, I’m sure I’d have nothing but good things to say about her romantic prospects with random-ass chicks she met at work.  You, on the other hand, better stop being a smartass and get those things off my dashboard before I tear off your other leg.”

                Péridot begrudgingly took her feet off the dashboard.  “Asshole.”

                “Man, Jasp, you should have seen her face when I came in,” Amethyst said.  “She was so lost in la-la land, I thought she’d been hit over the head.”

                “I was doing something important, Amethyst,” Péridot added. “I was re-organizing some lists in my head.”

                “Let me guess,” Jasper replied. “’Prettiest girls I’ve ever seen’ and ‘Prettiest girls I’ve ever met.’”

                “Don’t forget ‘Top ten times I ruined my chances with somebody,’” Péridot grumbled.  “She made me feel like I told her something I didn’t mean to.  She’s the new adjunct at AU, the art one.  I think she’s probably one of the doctoral students there.”

                “Every day, I wake up, put on my trainers, and think ‘what an amazing day to not be in graduate school,’” Jasper said.  “Don’t know how you can stand it.  I had enough in undergrad, let alone signing up for another four-to-six years of torture.”

                “Tell me about it.”  Péridot slumped down in her seat. “I’m never going to finish my Master’s, let alone trying to do stuff for a doctoral program.  And worse, I might run into that girl at school.  I told her to go to the help desk to get her computer fixed.  What if she shows up there while I’m at work-study? Ugh, just bury me alive, it’d be more tolerable than all this shit.”

                Jasper pulled into the parking lot by their apartment building. “Just do what you always do.  Completely embarrass yourself by acting like a total geek.  Then she’ll feel sorry for you, and sleep with you out of pity.”

                Péridot punched her in the shoulder. “Don’t be gross, Jasper.”

                Jasper grabbed Péridot’s bag out of the backseat, slinging it over one broad shoulder. “What, you were all starry-eyed because you just wanted to see her face? You’re more of a useless lesbian than I am, and we both know it.”

                Péridot bumped the car door closed with her hip.  “Maybe I do just wanna look at her.  Unlike _some people_ , I don’t have my mind in the gutter 24/7.”

                “Ha, that’s me!” Amethyst chimed in, grinning. “Although I gotta agree with Jasper: you are the most useless lesbian out of the three of us.”

                “I did not come here to deal with either of your nonsense.  Jasper, you’ve had at least three girlfriends in undergrad alone, let alone cumulatively since high school.  Quit hassling me. “Péridot pulled her keys out of her pocket, unlocking the door to their shared apartment.  “And  Amethyst has an on-again-off-again thing going with Pearl, so I don’t want to hear it from her either  I’m the only one of us who hasn’t had a steady girlfriend.”

                “Yeah, Peri, that’s why you’rer the most useless.”  Amethyst yanked open the fridge.  “Ugh, why is there never anything good in this house?”

                “Because we let you do the shopping, Ames,” Jasper retorted.  “One of these days, I’m going to throw out all of your gross processed crap and buy you actual food.  Well I would, but I’d be too worried you’d die of shock.”

                Péridot stood on her tiptoes to grab a packet of cup noodles off the top shelf.  “Yeah, Amethyst, if you died, Jasper would have to eat your part of he rent.”

                “Yeah, because I’m the only one with a steady job.  Peridot, do you have any idea how much sodium is in those? Eat something healthy, you’re going to get sick.”

                “God-fucking-dammit, Jasper, we both speak French. You know how to say my name.” Péridot filled the cup with water and stuck it in the microwave. “I’m going to make both of you wear post-its that say ‘THE T IS SILENT’ for at least a week.”

                “Suit yourself.”  Jasper turned the TV on, pulling a pair of free weights off the rack in the living room.  “I’m watching The Blacklist.”

                Péridot grabbed her set of metal chopsticks out of the silverware drawer and opened her own laptop.  She started scrolling through the article she’d been chewing on before work.  Amethyst flopped on the couch next to Jasper, a bowl full of apples and peanut butter in her hands.  They started arguing about whether that could be considered a healthy dinner, but Péridot tuned them out.  They were still going when Peridot finished the article, throwing the Styrofoam cup in the trash and flopping face-first in bed, dancing thoughts of Lapis cluttering her dreams.

 

* * *

 

                Another weekend, another Saturday and Sunday spent at ElectroPlace.  Countless streams of customers Péridot hated.  No Lapis.  Monday was always a relief – her one class met Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at a fairly decent time of morning.  Plus, she got to spend a few hours afterword at the school help desk with people she usually didn’t mind working with. 

                Today, however, she was alone.  She’d gotten a text about twenty minutes into the first hour with a frantic request from the other technician, who was supposed to have been there twenty minutes ago, that Péridot cover her shift.  Something about “dance lessons running long” and “recruiting an undergrad for the fencing club.”  Péridot didn’t care. She liked Pearl well enough not to begrudge her the time, and besides, Pearl had covered for her countless times anyway.   To be honest, Péridot couldn’t imagine what it was like being in Pearl’s position.  She was struggling as it was, with her tech support job and her schoolwork.  Pearl coached the school fencing club, taught ballet to kids and teens, and was working on her research for a doctorate in electrical engineering.  Even though she’d never admit it, Péridot admired Pearl’s resolve.  Covering for her was the least Péridot could do. 

                Someone rung the bell on the desk and Péridot emerged from the cubicle she’d been hiding in. Her favorite undergrad – well, the only undergrad she could tolerate on a regular basis – was waving to her from the other side of the counter.

                “Hey Peri!  Can you help me? Someone asked me to review their game, so I tried, but instead it made a bunch of ads keep popping up all over.  I couldn’t even find the game.”

                “Oh, Steven.”  Péridot walked over to the file cabinet, grabbing the forms everyone had to fill out before consultations. “Again? Remember, I told you last time, no downloading things you don’t recognize.  Even if someone asks nicely.”      

                “But I wanted to help! She seemed so nice!”

                “She’s not a real person.  There wasn’t a game.”  She handed the papers to Steven and took his computer, booting it without starting the GUI so she could access the files from the hard disk.  “Well, I mean, unless you count ‘trick Steven into downloading a virus’ as a game.”

                “Hey!” Steven looked up from his paperwork. “That’s mean.  How was I supposed to know that it wasn’t just somebody who needed help with her game?”

                “It’s never somebody who needs help with a game.  Ever.  That’s not how game testing works.”

                “But what if it was, though? Then her feelings would be hurt when I didn’t help.”

                Péridot tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. “Okay, then how about next time, you bring it here and one of us will check it first, okay?”

                “Okay!” Steven smiled cheerfully as Péridot handed him his now adware-free laptop. “I hope you have a great day!”

                His departure was immediately followed by Pearl’s arrival. _Perfect timing, as usual_.  Péridot heard a friendly “Hi Pearl!” and a short exchange outside the IT office before a somehow both clearly flustered and incredibly composed Pearl Nacre hurried in, still dressed in her ballet leotard. 

                “I am so sorry, Péridot.”  Pearl was probably the only person Péridot knew who actually pronounced her name correctly.  “One of the freshmen is taking dance lessons here while she’s away, and it turns out she’s into swordfighting, so I obviously had to talk to her about the fencing team: but it meant our lesson went long and by the time I realized I was already late, and it takes forty minutes to get here from the dance studio because of the traffic on Route 180, so you see–”

                “Pearl, it’s fine.”  Péridot flopped into one of the chairs.  “It hasn’t been busy anyway.  Steven was here.”

                “Yes, he mentioned! Let me guess – he downloaded a virus because ‘someone asked nicely?’”

                “Yep.”

                Pearl dropped her duffel bag on the floor, stretching her arms over her head.  Péridot decided she did not mind Pearl showing up late if it meant she’d be in her dance uniform.  Péridot couldn’t dance, but she could definitely appreciate those who could.  She’d always been a sucker for long, lithe figures and graceful movements.  Girls who walked like they floated on air.  _A sliver of narrow, brown wrist reaching out from beneath a tartan wrap._

                Péridot cleared her throat, trying to ignore the movie playing in her head.  Lapis, walking like she owned the earth under her feet. Lapis, smiling at her from under a wide-brimmed hat.  No, she was not going to spend more time pining over a girl whose name she barely knew.  Pearl raised an eyebrow at the sudden movement, but refrained from commenting.

                “Someone next door has a lovely voice,” she said instead.

                “Yeah, I guess.”  Péridot appreciated that Pearl didn’t press her like Amethyst or Jasper would have. “She’s been singing the same song for two hours, though.”

                “Maybe she’s practicing for something.  Maybe she’s in choir.”  Pearl logged into her account on one of the computers, pulling up a wiring diagram.  “Can you hand me my sweater, please?”

                Péridot tossed her the pink cardigan lying on her duffle bag.  “Well, either way, ‘pretty’ turns into ‘annoying’ real fast.”

                Pearl smirked.  “You’ve always thought that.”

                “Yeah, because it’s true.  Look at the same pretty thing 24/7, it turns into the worst thing imaginable.  Things are only pretty because they don’t last.”

                “I amend my statement.  You’ve always thought that, but you don’t really believe it.”

                “Whatever.”  Pearl was right, of course; she was always right, but Péridot wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of admitting it.

                “Amethyst said you met someone at work Friday.”

                “Amethyst needs to learn to shut her big mouth.”

                Pearl chuckled. “So, how cute was she?”

                “I don’t,” Peridot shoved her laptop into her backpack, “want to talk about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two for two, baby. But really, if you like the direction this is going (or don't and have suggestions), please leave me some comments! I thrive on creative, constructive criticism. 
> 
> I'm also always taking requests, ideas, and theories of what to incorporate into the story. If it doesn't conflict with the outline, there's a good chance you'll see your idea float around somewhere!
> 
> AN ASIDE: Jasper is a Physical Therapy assistant, which was her major in undergrad. Amethyst went to trade school to be an underwater welder.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peri's night off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find my reference/inspiration board at https://www.pinterest.com/infwordsmith/the-first-rule/!

                Péridot took the bus home.  She’d been doing it for years.  There was a short spread of time when she tried to learn how to drive, but with her prosthetic, it’d always been too much of a hassle.   It was cheaper and easier to just take public transportation or harass Jasper into giving her rides.  She couldn’t afford insurance on her tech support salary anyway.    The bus ride was long, and waiting in the cold was on Péridot’s list of “top ten most irritating things about not having a car.”   However, if she was ever worried about not having her pass or being short on change, she could usually pull her forearm crutches out of her backpack with usually good results.  Bus drivers were loath to throw a tiny, crippled girl off the bus over a dime. 

                The bus bumped over a pothole, rapping Péridot’s head off the window where she’d been trying to doze.  She glared at the front of the bus and pulled her phone out instead, hooking her personalized earphones over the backs of her ears and turning her music up so she could ignore the jostling of the wheels over the rough roads. She flicked through different social media and time-wasting sites she’d accumulated in her bookmarks over the years, deftly avoiding both boredom and the insufferable drone of the elderly woman two seats behind her.  Apparently there was “no reason” for the electric bills to go up. (There was a reason, and it was a good reason, but some people didn’t read the news, Péridot supposed).   

Péridot stared out the window, waiting for the perfect moment to pull the signal cord telling the driver to stop.  The bus screeched to a stop at the corner of Péridot’s block, and she waved a small thanks as she walked off, watching it disappear ahead of her before crossing the street and walking into her parking lot.  She was always thankful for the elevator – the apartment she shared with Jasper and Amethyst was on the fifth floor, and she hated going up and down stairs.  Fumbling with her keyring, she finally pulled the door open and did her best not to fall backwards from the loss of tension. 

Tossing her backpack on the counter, Péridot walked into the kitchenette, rooting through the fridge for a snack.  As she closed the door, she glanced over at the couch.  Jasper was sitting there, filling out activity sheets by hand, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was no longer alone.

                Péridot grabbed an apple and flopped down next to Jasper.  “You’re home early.”

                Jasper looked up casually, clearly not startled.  “You’re home late.”

                Both were true.  “I had to stay late at the help desk.  Pearl had an appointment run long, then got stuck in traffic.” Jasper rolled her eyes, and Péridot glared.  “Hey, just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean I can’t.  Why are you home?”

                “I’m off today and tomorrow.  I’m working the weekend.”

                “Does that mean I don’t have a ride?” Péridot asked.

                “It depends on your schedule.”  Jasper focused back on her activity sheets. “I’ll do my best.”

                Péridot shrugged.  “As long as you can pick me up, I should be okay.  I’m working late shifts.  What’re you doing?”

                “Working on activity logs for discharged patients.  We have to turn them into their primary care doctors and insurance for documentation that they actually came here.”

                “Sounds fun.”  Péridot started slicing pieces off her apple with a paring knife. “Paperwork is your favorite thing, after all.”

                Jasper rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.  I just have to get these done and then I’m really off for the night. Honestly, the hardest part is remembering if we changed any of the stuff – reps, weights, etc.  Otherwise it’s just copying down whatever the physical therapist wrote and forgot to extend.”

                “You want help? I can do those, and you can work on my thesis.” 

                “Yeah, sure.  That way, I can get fired, you can completely fail your program, and we can both move back in with Mom.”

                Péridot shuddered. “Perish the thought.” Coring another piece of apple, she glanced around the room. “Where’s Amethyst?”

                “Ah, she got a last minute job about forty minutes away.  She’s going to be gone until Thursday.”

                Péridot nodded. “It’ll be quieter.  Maybe you can get some healthy food.”

                Jasper gave her a pointed look. “You’d never eat it anyway.  Besides, you’re half the noise around here.”

                “Excuse you, I am only one third of the noise.”

                “Oh no, I do not contribute to your arguments as loudly as either of you do.”

                “No, but you have a metaphorical loudness.  Loudness of the spirit.  It has to do with your precise mental dictionary of swears.”

                “Yeah, sure.  You’re just saying that because I’m bigger than you and Amethyst put together.”

                “Actually, yeah, that adds to it.  Physical loudness.  Your presence is loud.  Too many muscles.”

                “Oh, well, sorry for wanting to be huge and able to protect you from the thousands of angry customers who are constantly banging down our door.”  Jasper raised a hand to her ear.  “I can hear them now! ‘Give us the green-legged nerd who insinuated that the reason my computer was broken was because I was a fucking idiot who downloads shit! We want her head!’”  Jasper turned to look at Péridot.  “They have pitchforks.”

                “Yeah, well, tell them they _are_ idiots for downloading shit.” Péridot tossed her apple core, narrowly making it into the garbage can.  “Kobe!”

                “And if I’m the physical manifestation of loudness, you’re the physical manifestation of a lisp.”

                “What, because I have one leg? That’s racist.”

                Jasper slugged Péridot in the arm and she tried not to wince.  “That’s not racist, dickhead.  You’re a living, anthropomorphic snack cracker.  You don’t get to decide what’s racist.”

                It was true, in the sense that Péridot was mostly white.  Their mother was half-Saudi, but Péridot had inherited most of her features from her British father.  Jasper looked more like her father as well – tall, dark, with a sharp nose – but had ended up with pale stripes of vitiligo across her body that stood out in contrast to her otherwise flawless skin.  No one tended to guess that they were sisters.  

                This was, of course, only amplified by the fact that Jasper stood at least a head and shoulders above Péridot.  Jasper put a lot of stock into her physical health – maybe because Péridot had always been so sick – and ended up looking like some kind of jacked cartoon character.  Péridot had always looked flimsy in comparison to her sister, even before the accident – now, with a prosthetic leg and a body covered in splints and braces, she looked like a supervillain who was casually hanging around her superhero friend.  The fact that Jasper looked at least four times as intimidating as her admittedly nerdy sibling had earned her the status of “Péridot’s bodyguard” in high school.

                It had kinda stuck.

                Péridot flopped against Jasper, her shoulder resting against her sister’s bicep.  Even sitting, Péridot was significantly smaller.  She tucked her legs up underneath her and crossed her arms.  “I’m bored. I don’t have anything to do.”  
                Jasper didn’t bother looking at her.  “You’re in grad school.  Don’t you have research to be reading, or a paper to write?”  
                Péridot rolled her eyes.  “I’m bored and I don’t have anything _fun_ to do.”

                “Well, bothering me isn’t fun either.”  Jasper pulled the final sheet out and began writing down exercises.

                Péridot didn’t move.  They had done this before, a tentative “pay-attention-to me” kind of stand-off.  Péridot was pretty sure it had started before the accident – maybe even before she could remember.  Jasper insisted it was only after the accident; more specifically, after their mother turned a permanent cold shoulder to Péridot.  Péridot would slowly worm her way into whatever Jasper was doing, and then stay there until she either got her sister’s attention and affection or got chest passed into a wall.  It had become a ritual.  They both knew the rules.

                Jasper finished writing out the last of her sheets, squaring them into a neat stack.  “Fine, you win.”  Péridot answered with a small fist pump.  “You wanna watch something on Netflix?”

                “I don’t know,” Péridot answered.  “Is that cartoon on there? The one about those rock people from outer space?”

                “First, the main character of that is only half-space rock, second, that show is stupid, and third, no, it’s not on Netflix.  What about a movie?”

                “Sure. I haven’t sat through a whole movie in like, six years.”

                “Something we’ve seen?”

                “Yeah.  My attention span’s no good for something new right now.   No horror.”

                “No, we should watch an action movie.  How about _Guardians of the Galaxy_?”

                “No, something darker.  _Watchmen_.”

                “You’re such a loser.”  Jasper rented the HD version on Amazon, streaming it across their television.  “I bet you’ve seen this movie at least ten times.”

                “I’ve seen this movie twelve times.  It’s number three on my ‘Best Movies of All Time’ _and_ it’s based on the number one ‘Best Graphic Novel of All Time.’” 

                “Nerd.”  Jasper sat back on the couch, letting Péridot lean on her shoulder. “You’re lucky I like you.”

                “Yeah, yeah.  We’re natural enemies.  I know.”

                “I’m telling you, people like me prey on people like you in the wild.  We’re like those animal friends on TV.  The ones where tigers become friends with kittens, or whatever.”  
                “Yeah, you’ve been telling me since grade school.”  Péridot mimicked Jasper’s voice. “’ Péridot, you’re lucky I like you or else you’d totally be dead.  Péridot, you’re lucky I’m so strong because you’re so, so weak.  Péridot, you’re lucky I watch out for you or else Garnet would totally have beat you up at least four times.’”  Péridot looked up at Jasper.  “For the record, Garnet has only ever beaten me up once, and that was admittedly deserved, since I did convince the Universe kid to come into mom’s car and get candy.”

                “Yeah, I know.”  Jasper chuckled.  “You actually got beat up by that _Pearl_.  Even if I had been there, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

                “Oh, thanks, I love you too.”

                “What? If you can get beat up by Pearl, you deserve to get beat up by Pearl. It’s natural selection.”

                “That’s not how natural selection works and you know it.”

                “Hush, the movie’s starting.” Jasper and Péridot turned their attention to the screen ahead of them, sitting in silence for a few minutes.

                The scenes played through with minimal commentary from the peanut gallery.  Péridot hadn’t realized until she’d really settled down how tired she was. Leaning her whole body against Jasper’s, she tugged a blanket up to her waist and shut her eyes.  She could imagine the scenery well enough – she had the whole movie practically memorized.

 She’d just started to doze off when Jasper’s voice startled her awake. 

“Do you still get the nightmare?”

Péridot sat up straight.  Jasper wasn’t even looking at her, eyes still fixed on the screen as she continued. "I mean… we don’t really talk about it anymore.  But I still wonder how you’re doing.”

The nightmare. For months – years – after the accident, Péridot had woken up almost every night, fiery dreams keeping her from sleep.  The hospital was the worst.  She’d wake up, see it was just a nightmare, and reach for her leg – _just a dream_ , she’d say to herself, _you’re fine_ – just to find that even in reality it had been replaced with the mangled stump she’d sported ever since.  Even once she made it home, the dream had been a big cause of distress for her.  It had seemed as if every time she closed her eyes, some new, twisted version of events played itself out in her head.  She’d crawl into her mother’s bed for comfort, and when she was inevitably forcibly removed, she’d go to Jasper.   It eventually dwindled, and even when she was woken, Péridot stayed by herself, refusing to let anyone else see her suffer.

“Not really,” she lied.  “I mean, every so often.  I guess that’s to be expected..”

“I guess…” Jasper said absentmindedly.  “I just want you to know I’m still here.  If you need anything.”

“Yeah.”  Péridot let her eyes drift closed again.  “Same.”

* * *

 

_She pulled again, again, again at her leg, but it wouldn’t budge.  The fire roared in all directions.  She wasn’t sure how much of the blood on her face was hers.  The fire got closer.  She wasn’t sure if she was still alive. The fire was on her, lapping at her legs.  She turned to scream for help, for her father to rescue her.  A dead-eyed face looked back, a chunk of tree lodged solidly in one eye.  She screamed anyway.  The fire ate at her from the bottom up.  The dead man opened his mouth and said “answer your phone.”  The fire would consume her and he screamed “answer your phone, goddammit, pick up your phone before I smash it against a wall; answer your fucking phone—_

PERIDOT!” 

Péridot shot awake.  “What, what happened?”

“You fell asleep. Now can you please answer your goddamn piece of shit phone before I smash it?” Jasper snarled.

Péridot reached for the phone lying on the coffee table. “ _Oui_ ”

“YO, PERI!”  Péridot had to hold her phone a few inches back to keep from going deaf at Amethyst’s volume level.

“What?” Péridot tried to conceal her annoyance.  She’d gotten Jasper’s wrath for this?

“I just wanted to call you before I forgot, dude.  Sugi texted me, there’s an event at The First Rule this Sunday.”

“Yeah, I know,” Péridot answered.  “Every other week. I’ve been meaning to come back sometime but it hasn’t been working out, I’ve just been busy.”

“No, no, not the normal Sunday night thing, a different one.”  Péridot could hear loud music and giggling behind Amethyst. “There’s some kinda show.  A bunch of different bands are coming.  She said we could come free if we’re gonna go to the night.”

“I don’t know, Ame. I’m really busy.”

“Aww, come on!” Amethyst was almost visibly frowning through the phone. “You haven’t been in ages.  It’ll be good for you.  Beside, there’s a surprise act performing.  Sugi told me, but said I should keep it a secret from you. If you don’t go you’ll miss it!”

“I guess I haven’t been out in a while.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit! Besides, the prize box for the afterparty, if ya know what I mean, is running _real_ high this week.”

Amethyst really did know how to get Péridot’s attention. “How high we talking?”

“Three hundred.”

Well, that sealed it.  Free admission, a night off, and a chance at a prize pot that big?

Péridot may not have been to The First Rule in a while, but it was time to dust off her party shoes and get kicking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, that chapter was stubborn. Anyway, guys, here you are -- sorry about the wait, I wanted to have this up two days ago. (And the title begins to make sense! woo) 
> 
> As usual, comment/message me with any input you have! I'm always looking for feedback. 
> 
> Also, I track the tags "the first rule fic" and "the first rule SU" on tumblr.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot's first night out in a long time.

_“Historically, the first solution has been to set a zero velocity in the task space when the inequality constraint is satisfied. This is the artificial potential field approach proposed by Khatib.  The target region is described with a low or null cost, while the cost increases when approaching the limit of the region, following the behavior of the barrier functions used…”_

                Pèridot’s tiny robot crawled over the pages she’d spread out on the living room floor, reading the article text aloud over a tiny speaker attached to its back.  Pearl had built the robot, of course, but Pèridot was responsible for the program that taught it to read journal articles for her so she could work out and still, you know, _work_.  Today, she was exercising because she knew if she didn’t she’d really regret it when she got home from her night out.  She’d screwed it up before, tried to pull off a Sunday night at The First Rule without exercising to get herself limbered up, and ended up stuck at home all the next day or worse. 

                She was doing pushups nearby, her prosthetic leg resting against the couch while she tucked her stump over her good leg.  She’d always found that her prosthetic tended to get in the way of her doing floor exercises unless she used her running blade, which was really just too much of a hassle to change for thirty minutes of basic weight-bearing exercise.  Her blade was also being stored on the top shelf of the storage closet, which she couldn’t reach without pulling out the rickety stepladder, meaning she had to wait for Jasper to get home to get it down for her. 

                Pèridot was inordinately excited for the event tonight.  She wasn’t even one hundred percent sure that she knew what was going on, just that Amethyst was excited to show her.  She also hadn’t spent a night out, particularly at a bar, for about two months.  In Pèridot’s mind, she was way overdue for an activity that (unlike this one) didn’t include any articles on motion selection and optimization for robots.  She fell to her knee, rocking back into a sitting position and grabbing her leg from the couch.  She flipped the gel liner inside out, humming out a song that had gotten itself firmly stuck in her head over the last week.  One of the people from the graduate services center had been singing the same song all week long, and now Pèridot was singing it too.  She rolled the liner up what was left of her leg, centering the strap and making sure she hadn’t trapped any air.  Grabbing one of her forearm crutches, she hauled herself to one foot and pulled her leg into the prosthesis, buckling the strap on the liner through the hole in the socket.

                 “ _What’s taking you so long, Pèridot_?” she mimicked a stranger’s voice.  “ _Oh, just changing my leg, you know.  Normal.”_

                 She picked up her little robot and flicked it off, gathering up the article from the floor and putting both on the countertop.  If she were at the gym, she’d probably do jump rope, but she’d already gone through the hassle of replacing the ceiling fan once and didn’t feel like knocking it off again.  Instead, Pèridot opted for washing up in the bathroom, stripping off her Watchmen graphic t-shirt and splashing her face with water.  She was torn between changing her finger splints now or packing them in her bag – on one hand, Amethyst had told her to “look presentable,” but on the other hand, she couldn’t afford to dent her expensive splints.  She decided to take her chances, throwing the plastic ones in their case and putting on the metal.  She took her high ponytail down, brushed her hair, and put it back up into a messy bun, letting her piecey bangs float around her glasses.

_Yeah, I look cute._

                   She shoved a tank top and a pair of shorts into her duffel bag along with her extra braces and plastic splints, hand wraps, and KT tape before changing into cutoffs, an AU baseball tee, and wedges, which admittedly took altogether too long to get on her bad foot.

                   The door swung open, and Pèridot called out “Jasper, can you please get my running blade out of the closet?”

                    Amethyst peeked her head in the door. “Not Jasper, dude.  She did say to tell you she was staying late at work and you’d have to bite it and get on the ladder.”

                    Pèridot groaned.  “I _hate_ the ladder.  I thought you were coming straight from Pearl’s apartment?”

                    “Nah, bro, she’s way too busy to keep me there all day.  I can’t handle listening to her rant about her nerd stuff too, knowing I’d be with you tonight.”

                    “Well, good, you can get my blade down from the closet.” 

                    “Like hell _I’m_ getting on that rickety old thing.”

                    “Knock it down with something then; I’m not getting up there. I’ll fall over.”  Seeing Amethyst making a face, Pèridot added “I only have one leg, Amethyst.”

                    “Ugh, fine, you win.  You and your stupid stump leg.”

                    Amethyst opened up the closet and started jumping up, trying to knock the box with Pèridot’s prosthetic blade and accessories down unsuccessfully.  She ran out of the room, grabbed a broom, and swept the box to the floor with a clatter.  “Done!” she said, turning to Pèridot with the appendage in her hands.

                    Pèridot stood up. “So, do I look presentable?”

                    “Hmm…” Amethyst pretended to consider it for a second. “You look like a nerd.”

                    Pèridot’s shoulders slumped and she rolled her eyes.  “You know what, dumbass, I don’t have to come tonight.”

                    “You look fine, you big green dork. What, you have a hot date tonight?”

                    “No!” Pèridot blushed. “You did say it was a special event.”

                    “Yeah, you’re wearing shorts,” Amethyst noted, “and heels! They totally make you look like you have two legs, don’t worry.”

                    Pèridot glared at Amethyst. “You know that wasn’t what I was going for. My prosthetic is _green_ , and the cover doesn’t even reach around the side hinges.”

                    “You look like a rad, robo-chick.  You’ll take home all the ladies tonight.”

                    Pèridot rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, reaching out for her running blade to put in her duffel. “I’m not even going to be dressed like this all night.”

                    “Whatever, dude.  Are you ready?”

                    “Your stuff’s in the car, right?”

                    “Yeah, let’s roll.”

 

* * *

 

                  When they reached the bar, Amethyst made a beeline for Sugilite, the owner, leaving Pèridot perched at the bar alone. 

                  “Can I just get whatever’s on tap, please?” she asked the bartender – Sardonyx, if she remembered correctly. 

                 Sugilite, Sardonyx, Alexandrite, and Opal were sisters who had all worked at The First Rule in one capacity or another since Pèridot had started coming.  Unfortunately, with the exception of Sugi, Pèridot could never remember who was who.  She tried to pull up her list – _Sardonyx and Alex wear glasses, but Alex wears sunglasses, and Opal forgets everything, and Nyx does standup but Alex is funnier…_ ah, it was hopeless.  All Pèridot needed to know was that Sugi was Amethyst’s friend, and that meant Pèridot had a back door into The First Rule whenever something big was going on. 

                 Sardonyx slid Pèridot’s drink down the bar and moved on to some more elaborate, showy cocktail for someone else.   Bored, Pèridot watched a sound crew putting together some getup for whatever was going on tonight.  It was interesting enough that she didn’t even notice someone approach her until they totally blocked her view.

                “So, what’s good here, huh?”

                It took Pèridot a good six seconds to figure out that the question was directed at her and another two to realize she’d seen those eyes before. 

                “ _Lapis_?”

                “Oh, you recognize me!”  Lapis Lazurite was right there, perched on the bar stool next to Pèridot, smirking at her and wiggling her fingers in a little wave. “I just figured since you’d been here for a while you might know what’s good here.”

                Pèridot resisted the urge to rub the back of her neck, nervous for a reason she couldn’t quite pin down. “I usually just get what’s on tap. It all tastes the same to me: terrible.”

                Lapis giggled, and Pèridot began to guess that she was already a little tipsy.  “Do you even like alcohol?”

                “Not really.  It all tastes spoiled.”  Pèridot drained her glass. “I do like being buzzed, though.”

                “Same.”  Lapis shrugged and crossed her legs, leaning one elbow on the bar.  “I can never sing completely sober.   I lock up and start staring at the audience.”

                “Wait, you sing?” Pèridot slid off her seat, gesturing wildly.  “Wait, wait, you’re singing tonight?”

                 Lapis shrugged. “We all have to pay for school one way or another.”

                 Pèridot barely registered the response. “Oh my god, Amethyst set me up!”

                Lapis hadn’t lost her smile, but her eyes betrayed confusion. “I don’t understand. Who’s Amethyst?”

                “Sugilite knew you were coming, and told Amethyst, and Amethyst remembered you from me, and she set me up!”

                “You… told people about me?”  Now Lapis looked really baffled.  “I only met you once.”

                Pèridot was now blushing furiously, trying to keep her voice down as she waved her arms around. “No, no! Just my roommate, and my sister, who’s also my roommate, but that’s not the point! And I didn’t say anything, because like you said I barely know you – I don’t know you, actually, I just saw you, and that’s why I said anything at all, just, I thought you were really, really… pretty.”

  
                Lapis stared at her, wide eyes suddenly narrowing as she grinned. “You have a crush on me!”

                Pèridot was pretty sure her entire face was completely red as she indignantly replied “I do not!”

                “Oh my god, that’s why you look so adorable tonight!” Lapis leaned over, fingering the cuff of Peridot’s shorts.  “Pearl says you never dress nice unless you’re trying to impress someone.”

                “I swear I had no idea that you were going to be here – wait, you know Pearl?” _She thinks I look cute?_

                “Well, I met her at the Help Desk.  I said I knew you, and she said she knew you, and I asked if you always looked like you’d just gotten out of bed and she said pretty much, ever since she’d known you.”

                “Well maybe you have a crush on me, since you went out of your way to ask about me.”

                “I don’t know.”  Lapis smirked at Pèridot. “Do I look like I’m trying to impress you?”

                Lapis looked incredible.  She was wearing a matching crop top and bias-cut skirt that hung low on her hips, floated out around her knees and complemented the blue streaks in her hair.  Without the hat, Pèridot saw that her hair was cut into a short, angled bob.  She had perfect eyeliner and what Pèridot was pretty sure was blue lipstick as well.  She was showing more skin in the middle of October than Pèridot would ever consider showing on summer’s hottest day, and managed to make it look effortless and comfortable.  She smiled at Pèridot, waiting for a response.

                “You look better than me,” Pèridot replied, finally at a loss for words.

                Lapis laughed again.  “Well, I am performing tonight! Speaking of which, I have to go.  The guys are almost done setting up and Sugilite’s not paying me to chat it up with cute girls.”  She leaned forward, kissing Pèridot lightly on the cheek before running off to get her equipment set up.

                Pèridot stood motionless until Sardonyx approached her with “so, who was that?”

                “No one, nothing.” Pèridot waved her off and went hunting for Amethyst. She found her near the back, already surrounded by more than one empty bottle and a heated argument about _Star Wars_.  Pèridot grabbed Amethyst by the arm and dragged her out of the gathering, hissing “you set me up” in her ear.

                “What, dude, I thought you li-iked her.”

                “I didn’t expect for her to randomly show up and start talking to me! You could have at least given me a warning. “

                “But that would have ruined the surprise, Peri! Oh man, you should have seen yourself.  I was watching from back here and you were _red!”_

                “Yeah, well, that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t sprung it on me for no good reason other than your own amusement!”

                “Please, if I had said anything you would have been too scared to come.”

                “You take that back, you little—”

                Amethyst held up a hand.  “Shh. The show’s starting.”

                Lapis took to the stage after a brief introduction, and Pèridot couldn’t help but follow the catlike movements as she gripped the mic and swayed with the backing tracks.

_I lost something I’ll never get, I’ll never get back_

_Left a hole in me_

_A head of steel, and a soul of gold_

_And a heart that’s made of glass…_

                Pèridot watched as she flicked the microphone out of the stand and raised it, stomping a foot in time with the beat drop.

_But mine’s **cracked.**_

                As the chorus delved into “whoa”s, Lapis stalked across the stage.  It was like she’d become another person, face hard and movements near-predatory.

_No idea where I’m going, but there’s no looking back:_

_I’m cracked._

                The whole set went by in a flash.  Lapis owned the stage, the bar, the whole atmosphere, sending the patrons dancing between tables and cheering.  It was like Pèridot didn’t even see her leave – one moment she was dipping the microphone stand for a vocal run, and the next she was nowhere to be found.  She didn’t so much as wave goodbye, but the air had changed into something electric.

                “Oh, man.”  Amethyst cut through Pèridot’s reverie. “That was perfect.” She threw a hand on Pèridot’s shoulder. “Man, I’m so ready.  Are you ready?”

                Pèridot took a deep breath, nodding to no one in particular.  “Let’s do this.”

 

* * *

 

                The First Rule was popular enough as a bar. Plenty of people came and left without ever knowing what went on behind the scenes – or more accurately, underneath them.

                As Pèridot descended the stairs, duffel bag in tow, she could hear the already-growing roar.  “Man, it’s going to be packed tonight,” she mumbled, using her shoulder to push open the door to the bathroom-turned-into-a-locker-room.  She stripped, changing into her tank top and shorts, pulling off her silver splints and replacing them with plastic, which she then covered with hand wraps.  Her braces had been customized to look like roller derby pads, and she unsecured her prosthetic leg and replaced it with her metallic green running blade.   Amethyst gave her the thumbs up from across the room, where she was changing into a tank top with a huge pawprint across the front.

                They made it to the main arena with no time to spare.  Sugilite stood in the raised ring, holding an old-style announcer’s mic.

                “Ladies, gentlemen, and violence enthusiasts!”  This elicited a cheer from the audience. “The one, the only, the magnificent Sunday Night Fight Club!”                

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading along! Hope you're enjoying the story. As always, feel free to leave any kind of feedback in the comments!
> 
> The article quoted at the beginning is a real article -- LAUMOND, JEAN-PAUL, NICOLAS MANSARD, and JEAN BERNARD LASERRE. "Optimization As Motion Selection Principle In Robot Action." Communications of the ACM (2015): 64-74.
> 
> The song is "Cracked" by Pentatonix.
> 
> I track the tags the first rule fic and the first rule su


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't die! It's been nearly a year, but I'm still here... somehow...
> 
> find me at @truemonarchofthesewalls on tumblr! i track the tag "the first rule fic" and "the first rule su"  
> you can also see sketches and ideas on there.

According to Sugilite’s rules, Pèridot should have been in the pro bracket.  She was announcing them right now – “Anyone who has won three or more amateur brackets in a row should be entering as a pro, and I will be checking, baby!

Pèridot was pretty sure that the reason she had been entered into the amateur bracket _despite_ the fact that Sugi knew for a fact that she’d won at least five bracket matches was that Opal felt bad for her – the whole “only one leg” thing and all.  Sugi let it fly because to be honest, watching people get thoroughly trounced when they underestimated Pèridot was pretty funny.

Opal watched from the registration area, fiddling with the edge of her crop-top nervously as Sugilite stalked across the arena in ripped jeans and a leather tank.  Out of the pair, Pèridot was definitely more afraid of what Sugilite would do if she got angry, so she tended to try and stay on both sisters’ good side by competing in whatever category they were placed in. 

Pèridot bounced back and forth between her running blade and her good leg.  She was up in the second round of amateurs: the third fight altogether.  She shuddered nervously as Sugi called the first two combatants to the ring – a couple of new kids, probably undergrads at Alexandria, both looking incredibly scared but trying to put on a tough exterior.  One was pretty significantly bigger than the other, so Pèridot assumed the fight would be over quickly.

She settled back into one of the stadium seats arranged around the raised fighting platform, drumming her fingers on her legs as she tried to keep her nerves in check.  She was pretty good at fighting – she’d had a lot of practice – but one wrong move could land her in the hospital or worse.  The prize money was just too good to pass up. 

The bigger of the two newbies won quickly, seemingly relieved that the fight hadn’t lasted long.  Amethyst stepped into the ring next, going up against one of the Ruby Clan girls.  Pèridot could barely tell the Rubies apart, but this one had an eyepatch.  Whatever – Amethyst had faced worse in the ring.  Pèridot tapped her foot on the ground, barely watching.   

Pèridot had always kind of been a nervous person, but after the accident, things only got worse.  Sometimes she felt like she was suffocating under the pressure to stay positive, accomplish her (or her mother’s) dreams, keep herself in good shape and ambulatory, and still maintain her own identity absent of any of those things.  Sometimes she thought she didn’t even know who she was anymore, other than “the one with the fake leg.”

Sugilite’s signature snarl snapped Pèridot out of her reverie.  “Well, that was a satisfying conclusion.  Don’t feel relief all at once, now, we’ve got another group of amateurs looking to take the ring for tonight’s competition!”

Pèridot peeled herself out of the chair, loping toward the ring as Sugi continued. 

“First up, his very first match here at The First Rule, Concrete Heat!” A twentysomething boy with what looked like concrete bracelets climbed into the ring, beating his chest and yelling.  The crowd responded, but the halfhearted cheering seemed to dissuade him from any further displays of masculinity.

“Meeting him across the ring is our very own homegrown Lean Green Fighting Machine!”

Amethyst had come up with the name, of course – basing it off of Pèridot’s green prosthetics and complimentary outfits.  For some reason, Pèridot stuck with it, despite the fact that it was just… so stupid.

That being said, “Concrete Heat” was quickly making a name for itself on Pèridot’s “top 10 dumbest fight names” list. 

She clambered into the ring, doing her best not to catch her running blade on the elastic ropes.  Immediately it became clear that she hadn’t been there in a while, as there was an audible gasp from the audience as they saw her leg.  Pèridot heard at least one person whisper _that poor thing’s gonna get eaten alive!_

Ha. Amateurs.

Sugilite stepped out of the ring and Pèridot assumed a basic fighting stance. As soon as the bell rang, Pavement Man, or whatever his name was, charged at Pèridot, arms outstretched. 

She waited until the last minute to sidestep, eliciting a cheer as her opponent went face-first into the ropes. 

_This is going to be fun._

Pèridot continued sidestepping the next few attacks before dodging under construction boy’s arms and planting a solid fist to his stomach.  He groaned and stumbled back a few paces.  She took the opening to charge toward him, using the kinetic energy from her running blade to aim a sharp kick at his head, knocking him to the ground.  He started to struggle up, but Pèridot put her blade on his chest and mouthed “I’d stay down if I were you. You don’t wanna fight worse than me.”

He listened.  The crowd cheered as Sugilite swung in and announced Pèridot the winner, meaning she’d face off against the winner of the first amateur match. Her opponent limped out of the arena. 

Once the next fight had begun and the crowd was engaged again, Pèridot slowly made her way over to her last opponent.

“Hey, uh, Parking Lot Hot.”

The guy held an icepack to his cheek and glared up at Pèridot from his seat.  “It’s _Concrete Heat._ What do _you_ want?”

“Uh, sorry about that… I just didn’t want to hurt you, and the guy I’m gonna fight is way bigger than both of us.”

He eyed Pèridot up and down.  “Yeah, it doesn’t look like that’s hard.”

 _This is what I get for trying to be nice._ “Look, it doesn’t matter, ok? You did pretty good, and you’ll do better with practice. Just, uh, believe in yourself, or some shit.”

“Yeah, whatever.” The boy shrugged and put his icepack back on his jaw.

Pèridot sighed.  “Also, get some cheap concealer.  If you get too many face bruises, your RA’s gonna notice.”

She walked away, shaking slightly but trying to seem cool and collected. _See, I’m a nice person.  That was a Good Deed™._ In reality, she just wanted to be nice to somebody.  She wasn’t sure why – usually, at The First Rule, all she was interested in was feeling a little bit better about beating him up.  She knew how it felt to be hurt.  It wasn’t fun.  If he didn’t want to accept her advice, well, that’s his loss. 

Pèridot settled back into a chair and looked up at the fight going on in the ring.   Right in front of her, Stibnite Shadow crashed into the ropes, rainbow dreadlocks flying askew.  Towering over the fallen combatant was… _wait a second, Jasper?_

“Jasper, what the hell are you doing here?”

Jasper’s head whipped around at the sound of Pèridot’s voice, causing her to take a blow to the jaw.  She glared at Pèridot, an implied “we’ll talk later” in her eyes.

Pèridot retreated to rewrap her hands. By the time she returned, Jasper was gone, and Sugilite was calling her back into the ring – this time against somebody who won their first round, another rookie named Azure Flapper.  _Nevermind, that’s the worst name I’ve ever heard._

It didn’t help that she wore some kind of vintage dress that made it really easy to grab her and pull her over, which was the first thing Pèridot did.  Of course, Bluejay had heard that one before, and was back on her feet before Pèridot could get a good kick in and took a swing at Pèridot’s jaw.

The two of them grappled in the ring for a while.  Flappy Bird was surprisingly fast.  At least, that was what Pèridot was telling herself – the truth was, the fancy blue outfit reminded her of Lapis, which was distracting her, and she couldn’t really clear her head which meant --  _sonofabitch!_

That flappy fucker had punched Pèridot right in the face!

She rebounded off the ring, launching off her prosthetic and kicking Birdman right in the chest, sending her sprawling.  A few more hits, and she was down, and Pèridot had won $100 in her weight class.  She stumbled out of the ring and into the changing room, putting her head in her hands.

“Yo, Peri, did you get a _concussion?”_  Amethyst asked as she thwopped a towel on the bench next to Pèridot. 

Pèridot only groaned.  “Amethyyyst….”

“Because she hit you like one-two- _superhard!!_ It was awesome!!”

Pèridot glared at her. “If I say yes, will you drive me home so I don’t have to talk to Jasper?”

Amethyst threw an arm around Pèridot’s shoulder, causing another groan of pain. “I thought you’d never ask.”

 

* * *

 

 

Pèridot rolled out of bed the next morning unsure if her headache was a hangover or the aftermath of her fight.  A quick look in the mirror confirmed that she had a huge and un-hideable bruise on the side of her face, and the clock reminded her that she had work in thirty minutes. _Shit._

Luckily, she had left her normal prosthetic out, so it wasn’t hard for her to fix her gel liner and strap the metal leg onto her regular fitting, rolling her jeans down so they concealed it and gently tossing her running blade on her bed. Reluctantly, she unfolded one of her forearm crutches – her leg hurt too much from the springing around to walk without it. 

She caught the bus and rolled into the Help Desk five minutes late.  Pearl didn’t even bother with a “hello” before launching into the “I don’t appreciate the irresponsibility of your actions” speech she gave every time Pèridot was even a little late to her appointment.  Today, Pearl kind of had an excuse – she had to drive across town to her ballet studio and Pèridot was, sort of, making her late – but still, it was five minutes.  Pearl might be so uptight that she seemed close to exploding sometimes, but Pèridot was pretty sure she was going to live.  Pèridot tuned out after the first ten seconds, plugging her laptop into the Ethernet cable and opening up the help pages so she was ready for her shift.

“… and honestly, if you even thought about how your actions affected other people, you would stop showing up to your shifts so late! This job isn’t some kind of joke that you can just toss around and ignore the real-world consequences of, you know.”

Pèridot gave Pearl a bored look. “Okay.  Are you done?”

Pearl huffed, but grabbed her duffel bag and ran out, floppy ballerina feet practically flouncing their way down the hall.  Pèridot settled into the computer chair and pulled an icepack out of her backpack, resting it gingerly on her face and closing her eyes.

“Well, you look like shit.”

Pèridot’s eyes flew open, ready to make a nasty comeback, when she noticed who was standing at the desk: none other than Lapis Lazurite.  It was enough to make Pèridot choke her words down and stammer out a “hi.”

“What happened to your face?” Lapis looked tired, but no more tired than a regular art student.  Certainly not hungover.  “Did you get into a fight?”

“Uh, no.” Pèridot replied a little too quickly.  “I, um, tripped and fell.  Down the stairs.  Into a pole.”

_Yeah, great job.  That sounds believable._

Lapis did not look convinced, but to Pèridot’s surprise, she didn’t say anything about it. “Well, I just came by to ask if you wanted to catch lunch on Friday.” Before Pèridot could pick her jaw up off the floor, she continued with “I need help installing some software on my new mac.”

“Uh, sure, yeah, okay.”  Pèridot rubbed the back of her neck, trying not to look too desperate.  “Um, what time?”

Lapis grabbed a pen and scribbled down a phone number on a piece of scrap paper nearby.  Pèridot couldn’t help but focus on how perfect that rose gold midi ring looked on her hands, contrasted to her dark skin and matte black nails.  She pushed the paper across to Pèridot.

“Text me.”


End file.
